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Thursday, 8 June 2017

WHEN ARMY TRIED TO BUY SPY EQUIPMENT

The fear among some politicians in Swaziland that
their phones might be tapped has revived memories of when the kingdom’s
army was caught buying spy cameras and phone monitoring equipment worth US$1.25
million.

It came to light in 2012 when prodemocracy demonstrations
were at their height in the kingdom ruled by King Mswati III as sub-Saharan
Africa’s last absolute monarch.

The Umbutfo Swaziland Defence Force (USDF) – the formal name
of the Swaziland Army – was suedin the
Swaziland High Court because it ordered the equipment, but did not pay for it.

The equipment was known as GSM Option: Voice Intercept or
delivery and SMS (Short Message Service) Intercept or delivery, as well as spy
cameras and alarm systems, the Times of Swaziland reported at the
time.

The equipment could be used against the civilian population
in Swaziland. The Voice Intercept equipment is marketed as a tool to monitor
and record live phone conversations, which, according to one supplier called SyTech Corporation, the equipment can be
a valuable asset to any agency and investigation. It, ‘delivers the
evidence that makes the case while protecting officers’
safety’.

The GSM equipment is designed to monitor mobile phones. This
type of equipment is widely available across the world. Another supplier listed
the main use as, ‘following a person’s activities and staying undetected’.

The equipment records all information on the phone as it
happens and records ‘phone events’. It can spy on SMS text messages, on web browser
activities and call logs (inbound and outbound). It can also track the phone’s
location using GPS.

It was, one supplier said, ‘100 percent undetectable and you
can spy on unlimited [number of] phones.’

The Swaziland Army ordered equipment worth about E10 million
(US$1.25 million at the then exchange rate) from Naspoti J & M Security
Solutions, in Nelspruit, South Africa, the Swazi High Court heard, but
cancelled the order just as the company was ready to deliver.No reason was given to the court for the
cancellation but,
then as today the Swazi Government was broke and struggling to pay its
bills, including public sector salaries.

The revelation came at a time of growing activity in the
kingdom to force King Mswati to democratise. All political parties and
opposition groups are banned and the King controls the parliament and
judiciary.

This was not the first time that the Swazi ruling elite has
been found trying to spy on the King’s subjects. In August 2011, Wikileaks
published a cable from the US Embassy in Swaziland that revealed the Swazi
Government had tried to get MTN, the only mobile phone provider in the kingdom,
to use its network for ‘surveillance on political dissidents’.

Tebogo Mogapi, the MTN chief executive officer (CEO) in
Swaziland, refused to comply and later did not have his work permit renewed and
so had to leave the kingdom.